Category: Between The Lines

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The unruly and unsafe atmosphere that has dominated Cruisin weekend in recent years must be addressed in some fashion, but the reality is impact changes will prove difficult. The key here is bringing some sense of control to the mayhem because currently the weekend has spiraled into craziness.

There has to be some way to reach the troublemakers, which largely consists of the entitled bunch who come to Ocean City to wreak havoc. It’s the same sort of societal problems associated with the unregistered participants with the VW event in the fall. Generally, young people lack an appropriate moral compass, and there may be no greater and disturbing place to see this on display than in Ocean City, a melting pot of socio-economic profiles on a tiny land mass.

The main three issues I observe from this weekend have to do with the three T’s — traffic, trash and trouble.

Traffic: This is probably the least controllable aspect of the event. It’s a matter of critical mass overwhelming the infrastructure of Ocean City. When it gets jammed up like it was last weekend on Friday and Saturday, there’s simply nowhere to go. The immediate concern has to be emergency response times and how if a major situation unfolded on 100th Street bayside at 4 p.m. last Saturday how would responders from either of the two fire houses a couple miles away be able to provide any sort of timely response. The bus lane was not an option last weekend.

Trash: On Sunday morning, specifically, the town was literally trashed. Excluding the side streets, which were also in various states of disarray from litter, the amount of beer cans, disposable food containers and other garbage was disgusting. It’s simply unacceptable. There’s an open container law in Ocean City that’s unenforceable apparently on this weekend because law enforcement is stressed in other areas.

People were seen all over town with coolers full of beer watching from the sidewalks on Coastal Highway. More often than not, they left their cans behind in landscaping or on the street and sidewalks. The only way to reach these people is to put feet on the streets. Ocean City doesn’t have the personnel to do it. Therefore, other agencies need to be brought in to provide personnel to patrol the highway. It will cost money, but it’s the only way to combat this issue.

Trouble: It’s broad intentionally because there needs to be a catch-all for all the associated ill-effects, such as the blatant violations of the noise code and traffic, parking and open container laws and destruction of property and public decency. More than 1.5 million people saw the video posted on social media of a corvette entering Coastal Highway, doing a donut and spinning out for a block. The skid marks are still there today as well as all over the rest of town. That was just one of many videos that should disturb everyone, even those profiting from the event. There has to be a happy medium.

Cruisin weekend is a sticky wicket. There’s no question it’s an economic benefit for most businesses, particularly the hotels. Officials seemed to say all the right things this week. There was some lipstick put on the proverbial pig, but most seemed to agree adjustments are required. Whatever changes were put in place in between the 2014 event and this year went largely unnoticed. Instituting moves between now and next spring resulting in the same lack of progress is the only unacceptable conclusion moving forward.

There was never a doubt Worcester residents would be forking over more to their government in the coming months, but this week the cloudy picture cleared a bit. The news is bad, but it needs to be balanced with the fact most of the so-called “new money” the county will be receiving is needed to continue to support public education at levels supported by the most vocal members of the community.

Even with the 6.5-cent property tax increase and 40-percent jump to the county’s income tax rate, which will remain the lowest in the state, the county school system’s budget request had to be trimmed by more than $3 million.

This week’s tax increases can be best grasped with an example to keep it simple. For a married couple making a combined $75,000 a year with a home valued at $300,000, their bill to the county will increase by $477 annually — the income tax adjustment will mean $282 more will come out of their paychecks and the property tax hike will mean forking over $195 more.

The season is underway in Ocean City. For the last several years, Cruisin weekend has signaled the start of the peak tourism season in Ocean City and that should be no different this year. Early indications, such as building traffic all week and an excellent weather forecast, are this weekend will see huge crowds. Back-to-back Cruisin and Memorial Day weekends … Continue reading →

If this week’s discussion about the budget in Ocean City is any indication, it doesn’t appear relations are improving between the city and Worcester County. Former Ocean City Councilman Vince Gisriel and fellow detractors seemed to strike a nerve among Ocean City officials when questioning the budget at Monday’s meeting. Gisriel clearly annoyed a few council members with his comments … Continue reading →

It would be wrong to call what Ocean City recently passed and goes into effect today a smoking ban on the beach. However, it would be right to call it a Boardwalk smoking ban. The new law restricts smoking to designated sites — marked by the ugly orange receptacles — on the beach. The new law, however, bans Boardwalk-goers from … Continue reading →

Worcester County has apparently been working on an informal strategic plan and a draft of it was released this week. The top five priorities listed were the following: Replace Showell Elementary School with a cost-effective and affordable structure. Review design guidelines and standards for commercial uses and U.S. Route 50 transportation corridor plan (tie for second) Develop exit strategy for … Continue reading →

In this industry, it doesn’t get any better than what happened this week regarding the fundraising effort for Caleb Conner, a 15-year-old sophomore at Stephen Decatur High School who is considered legally blind and suffers from retinopathy of prematurity. Caleb was born at 25 weeks and weighed under two pounds. He had a rough start, spending more than three months … Continue reading →

All of the Worcester Board of License Commissioners meetings are important, but next week’s seems particularly so because it’s the only thing keeping a couple new places from being opened already. In other cases, it’s the last step in a business sale that must occur before the transaction can be completed. Among the new operations seeking alcohol licenses next week … Continue reading →

It’s official — autumn has become automotive season in Ocean City. There is nothing new to that. It’s been this way for some time, but the growth of the events or at least the audience they attract could have locals feeling burnt out come mid-October and businesses thankful for them. I personally like these auto events for the most part … Continue reading →

It didn’t take long for the south end of Worcester County to start raising equality questions. During a recent meeting, Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman requested for his town a portion of the money derived through a revenue sharing formula between the Casino at Ocean Downs and Worcester County. Pocomoke as well as Snow Hill do not receive any direct … Continue reading →

It’s looking more and more like the Labor Day school start mandate legislation will not be a slam dunk by any means. It’s most likely that way because the bill’s timing could not come at a worst year for several reasons. One is the calendar, which can obviously not be controlled. Labor Day this year falls on Sept. 7, the … Continue reading →